Grain Valley ties for third place in Missouri Class 3 soccer

Grain Valley boys soccer coach Tyler Nichol had a smile on his face as he accepted the trophy for third place on Saturday after his Eagle team tied Jefferson City Helias 2-2 in the Class 3 third-place game at the World Wide Technology Soccer Park.

“It was great to be here for the first time, and I am proud of the kids who deserve all the accolades they have received,” Nichol said. “But I would not say I am satisfied with the third-place trophy. It is good for a first time, though.”

The final-four appearance was the first in school history, and the Eagles represented themselves well after a 4-0 loss to St. Dominic in the semifinals.

“I thought the guys played much better (Saturday),” Nichol said. “The nerves were evident (Friday), but I just told them to go out and be loose and be themselves.”

The Eagles never trailed on Saturday against Helias.

After being shut out for just the second time in 27 games on Friday, it took Grain Valley less than a minute to score on Saturday as Noah Espinosa scored his team-high 21st goal.

The Crusaders got that one back as Braden Remmert scored his 41st goal of the season, and the game was tied 1-1 at halftime.

Espinosa gave Grain Valley its second lead of the game with a brilliant move early in the second half. But that lead was short-lived as freshman Nick Brandt scored just over a minute later for Helias.

Neither team would score the rest of the way, and since there is no overtime in third-place games, the two teams were both recognized as third-places finishers for state.

It was a satisfying end for senior captain Blake Desselle who held a players only meeting midway through the season after Grain Valley fell to 6-5.

“I had that talk because I believed that we had the potential, talent and coaching to be here,” Desselle said. “T told the guys that we needed to pick it up and we had a lot of success the rest of the way. Winning our first district title was a big highlight and it was nice to come out here today and be relaxed and play our game.”

The Eagles ended the season with a 20-7-1 record.

This story was originally published November 14, 2015 at 9:24 PM with the headline "Grain Valley ties for third place in Missouri Class 3 soccer."